DOWNTOWN — The Brooklyn assistant district attorney who attacked an EMT in her ambulance last year got 10 days community service as part of a plea deal announced in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday.
Teresa Soler, 46, responded with her crew to the Brooklyn Bridge on Nov. 10 to reports that somebody was wandering along the roadway visibly drunk. The ambulance spotted ADA Michael Jaccarino, 30, put him on a stretcher and loaded him in the back of the ambulance.
He then unstrapped himself from the stretcher and assaulted the EMT.
"I am now evermore guarded about the next intoxicated person I am called to help, worried and fearful that this individual will go from placid and quiet to murderous in the blink of an eye thanks to Mr. Jaccarino," said a statement from the victim.
Jaccarino got the light sentence after agreeing to a plea deal for misdemeanor assault, which includes six months of alcohol treatment.
Local 2507 president Israel Miranda, who represents more than 3,500 EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors, said he thinks Jaccarino should be fired from the Brooklyn DA's office.
"He admitted to reckless assault. I think it would be reckless to put him back in the ADA's office," Miranda said. "It sends a bad message that because you're intoxicated that excuses you from your responsibility under the law."
Jaccarino was suspended from the Brooklyn DA's office after incident. The DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The union president added that he is pushing legislation in Albany that would give emergency responders the same legal protections against assault that police officers have.
Jaccarino apologized for his actions in court before the sentencing.
"I have no memory of that night, of being on the Brooklyn Bridge, of being in the ambulance,” the Daily News reported. “That being said, I have no problem accepting responsibility."
Dozens of fellow emergency responders came to court Wednesday to support Soler. After the sentencing another female EMT gave her an emotional embrace outside the courthouse.
“I would tell him that I want him to close his eyes and see me every day,” the News reported her saying after the hearing. “I want him to think of me every day. I want him to feel the damage he did to me.”
Jaccarino's lawyer, James Koenig, said his client accepted "responsibly for what he had done," and that his intoxication "made this not an intentional act."
He added that Jaccarino will likely resign from the DA's Office.
